25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
-Matthew 6:25-34 NIV
If we are honest ourselves, Jesus’ words appear at times nearly impossible to follow. “Don’t worry” may be a great slogan on a bumper sticker or a tee shirt, but in real life… in the real world where there are bills to pay and conflicts to resolve and people to manage and fires to put out and things that need to get done… well these words could feel almost irrelevant or unrealistic at best.
Yet, there is nothing naive about Jesus’ words here. He knows our needs and life’s demands, and by exposing our all too common worries He is challenging us to see the bigger picture of life and to trust in the bigness of God’s provision in our lives.
It’s easy to get caught up in all the details of daily life– we become stressed out, overwhelmed and worn out by our to-do’s and our bank accounts and our demanding schedules. Life can quickly feel like a rat race, but Jesus reminds us in this passage that there is so much more to our lives than these things that often take up so much of our energy and attention. These demands may feel urgent, but there are some things that will always be important. Like the Kingdom of God, our relationship with Jesus, our spiritual growth, the depth at which we love God and love people. Jesus challenges us in His teachings to look up and see the much bigger picture that our worries often conceal.
Jesus also directs us to trust in the bigness of God’s provision. He is our Good Heavenly Father, who not only knows our needs but has the power and sovereignty to bless us, take care of us, and provide for us. When we are reminded of just how capable and powerful and caring our God is towards us, then our big worries quickly become a lot smaller next to the bigness of God.
So, what worries you today? What anxieties have been weighing you down? May you take to heart Jesus’ words, and exchange worry for a heavenly perspective and greater faith. Life is more than our worries and God is bigger than our greatest needs. We can pray and trust Him to richly provide.